Monthly Archives: August 2012

after waiting a year and a half for the SFMTA to install bicycle racks on the busy intersection of 16th and bryant streets, they have finally arrived!

we encourage EVERYONE to ride a bicycle. it’s great for your overall health, mind and body. it is a great source of meditation and helps empower people with an overall new sense of awareness and uplifting energy!

we’ve all heard the saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but how many apples is too many? in a culture that stresses the importance of fruit in our diets, its hard to imagine that there is a downside to eating too much of it but for the average person, and especially for the acne prone, there is.

the nutrients and minerals found in fruit make it a great part of anyone’s diet, but excess sugar, even from fruit, can lead to weight gain, more belly fat, increased triglyceride levels, and candida overgrowth which for the acne prone means worse acne!

the recommended daily sugar intake according to the USDA for women is a maximum of 26g and for men is 36g or just 2 cups of sliced bananas. grapes are an even worse offender in terms of sugar and just 2 cups add up to about 47g of sugar – which is more than a 12oz can of coca cola which has 39g! this isn’t to say that fruit isn’t an important part of one’s diet, because it is. the key is to be informed so you can make healthy choices and like anything, practice moderation! next time you go to the grocery store, keep in mind these numbers:

as if the list of cloggy ingredients wasnt long enough, we’ve added a few more!
please keep these things in mind as you read through the comedogenic ingredient list:

-new ingredients are invented all the time but they are rarely, if at all, tested for comedogenicity. our list is largely based on dr fulton’s study in the 1970’s, where he tested each ingredient on bunny ears (bunny ears clog in 2 weeks as opposed to human skin, which can take 6 months). unfortunately, this study was done several decades ago, and any ingredient that has been invented in the meantime has not, to our knowledege, been tested.

-2/10/13 – we’ve updated the list to include ingredients that dr. mark lees, another prominent and respected researcher in the skincare industry denotes as comedogenic.. though we have found that some of these ingredients don’t always clog (notes are added to explain these)

– some product ingredients look ok on paper (like bare minerals or sensodyne toothpaste) but they can still clog – there is something comedogenic in the formulation that is not being fully disclosed. trust your experience. if the ingredients of a product look safe but you are breaking out, stop using it.

-we cannot say with 100% certainty that non-sS products you bring in are acne safe. even if the list of ingredients look ok, we dont know for sure until we test them (which we do with all of the products we sell).

-just because you’re not putting something like laundry detergent directly on your skin does not necessarily mean it won’t aggravate your acne. using a shampoo with a cloggy ingredient (usually sodium laureth sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate) can cause not only breakouts on your face, but on your back and chest as well. cloggy toothpaste can break you out around your chin and upperlip, even if you’re not conscious of it touching those areas. don’t underestimate the potential of a product to spread and cause breakouts on wide surface areas of your skin!

-hair products in general, are formulated to leave a residue, to coat the hair shaft and make it shine, for example. so, even if the ingredients look ok, they might be leaving a residue on surfaces that are not washed off regularly (wash your hair every 2-3 days?) or easily (like pillowcases).

-with these things in mind, here is the updated list:

Acetylated Lanolin 5

Coconut Butter 8

Glyceryl Stearate SE 1

Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol 5

Coconut Oil 8

Glyceryl Stearate 15

Ahnfeltia concinna 11

Colloidal Sulfur 6

Glyceryl-3-Diisostearate 1

Alaria esculenta 11

Corallina Officinalis 11

Grapeseed Oil 14

Algae Extract 11

Corn Oil 15

Haslea ostrearia 11

Algin 6

Cotton Awws 8

Hexadecyl Alcohol 1

Ascophyllum nodosum 11

Cotton Seed Oil 8

Hexylene Glycol 14

Avocado Oil 15

Crithmum maritimum 11

Himanthalia elongate 11

Black Kelp 11

D & C Red # 3 10

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil 8

Bladderwrack 11

D & C Red # 17 10

Hydrolyzed Lola implexa 11

Blue Algae 11

D & C Red # 21 10

Hydrolyzed Rhodophycea 11

Blue Green Algae 11

D & C Red # 30 10

Hypnea Musciformis 11

Brown Algae 11

D & C Red # 36 10

Irish Moss 11

Butyl Stearate 4

Decyl Oleate 4

Isocetyl Alcohol 1

Carrageen moss 11

Dilsea carnosa 11

Isocetyl Stearate 1

Carrageenan 11

Dioctyl Succinate 4

Isodecyl Oleate 4

Carageenan moss 11

Disodium Monooleamido PEG 2-Sulfosuccinate 1

Isopropyl Isosterate 4

Cetyl Acetate 1

Dulse 11

Isopropyl Linolate 4

Cetearyl Alcohol + Ceteareth 20 (only when both are within the same product) 1

you probably all know by now that dairy is a big no-no as far as the sS acne free lifestyle is concerned. that doesn’t mean though that you cant reap its benefits because there are tons of other great sources of calcium out there that will easily help you get your recommended daily 1,000-1,300mg of calcium.
many leafy green vegetables such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, collards, bok choy, dandelion greens, broccoli and artichokes offer as much as 175-350mg of calcium per 1 cup. an easy and simple way to prepare your greens is by throwing some garlic and olive oil in a pan and sauteeing the vegetables for a few minutes. adding just a teaspoon of water can help cook the greens faster. you could also add some eggs in the mix for an easy, filling and healthy breakfast.

nuts and legumes can be a great source of calcium. just a handful of almonds, for example, can add up to 75mg to your diet. eat them raw, add some slivers to your breakfast, or use almond milk as your milk substitute. sesame seeds and tahini are also high in calcium and just 2tbs can offer up to 130mg of calcium. put some sesame seeds in your salad or add some tahini to your hummus or pita bread for a quick and easy snack. peas, black eyed peas, and white beans offer similar nutrition and can have over 200mg per 1 cup.

so now that weve given you some alternatives for dairy, we don’t want to hear you were trying to get calcium from that ice cream you ate before coming in for your facial!

hello sS’ers!we are having a sale on some of our colorscience products!

the powder spf, the blushes, and the bronzers are all on sale from $50 to $39.50. you can either drop in during our normal hours or order them online to have them shipped to you. get ’em while supplies last!